Atomic orbitals: 4f electron density

This page addresses the 4fx3, 4fy3, and 4fz3 electron density functions. The last of these (4fz3) is common to both the general and cubic 4f orbital sets. The other two are not in the general set. See below for links to images of the electron densities of the other 4f orbitals.

The line graph on the left is a plot of values along the x-axis. The surface plot on the right shows values of ψ4fx3 on any slice drawn through the x-axis such as the xy and xz planes. The x-direction is the same in all three plots.

The "surface" of the orbital represents points for which the electron density for that orbital is the same - an isosurface. By choosing different values of electron density, denoted by the bar moving up and down on the line plot or by the moving plane on the surface plot, then the size of the three-dimensional plot changes.

All values are of necessity not negative since the square of any real number cannot be less than zero.

The 4fx3, 4fy3, and 4fz3 are identical in appearance and differ only in direction. This is best seen when viewing all three together.